Sanford was born in
Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts. He ended the season with a 19–8 win–loss record and a 3.08
earned run average along with a league-leading 188 strikeouts. His 19 victories were second only to the 21 wins by
Warren Spahn. His next seven years would be extremely solid, but never quite as impressive as his rookie season; or according to some, he never improved much after it. After being traded to the Giants for the season, Sanford went 15–12 with a 3.16 ERA in 222
innings pitched and completed 10 games. He won 16 consecutive decisions from mid-June to mid-September and was named
Player of the Month in August for his second straight 6-0 month (he also posted a 3.55 ERA, and 31 SO). He was supposed to start Game 5 October 9, but rain pushed it back a day, which bothered Sanford, who had psyched himself to pitch that day. Sanford gave up a three-run home run to
Tom Tresh and a total of five runs (four earned) in innings as the Giants lost 5–3. He pitched better in Game 7, allowing just one run in seven innings against the Yankees when
Bill Skowron scored as
Tony Kubek hit into a double play in the fifth inning. That run was enough, though, for the Yankees to win 1–0, behind a
Ralph Terry shutout. Sanford finished second to
Don Drysdale in the voting for the 1962
Cy Young Award. After he left the Giants, his best seasons were behind him. He ended his playing career with the
Kansas City Athletics on August 6, at the age of 38. However, Sanford remained in the major leagues for two more seasons as the
pitching coach of the –
Cleveland Indians. Working on the staff of
Alvin Dark, his
manager with the 1962 Giants and 1967 Athletics, Sanford's first season saw the
1968 Indians compile a staff earned run average of 2.66. Throughout baseball, 1968 was known as "The Year of the Pitcher", and two of Cleveland's starters,
Luis Tiant (1.60 in 258 innings pitched) and
Sam McDowell (1.81 in 269 innings), finished first and second in ERA in the
American League. ==Pitching style==